Meadows discusses foreign affairs at Agudas Israel

Published: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 6:20 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 6:20 p.m.

LAUREL PARK – In the first of several local appearances, Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) fielded an hour's worth of questions at a local synagogue Sunday about topics ranging from his opposition of Obamacare to his views on current troubles in the Middle East.

Meadows urged about 50 people attending a Sunday seminar at Agudas Israel Congregation to keep pressure on members of Congress to protect Israel, which he called “a democracy that has been blessed beyond measure.”

“Both Democrats and Republicans see the importance of Israel,” he said. “But I'm here to tell you that some of that is dying down. And what you need to do, as believers that worship here at this synagogue, you really need to make sure that your voice is heard. You need to call. Because the anti-Semitic rhetoric in Europe has not been this high since Hitler.”

Meadows and other members of the House Foreign Affairs committee sent a letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül on July 30 calling on him to condemn recent anti-Semitic statements by Turkish officials, including Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's reference to Zionism as a “crime against humanity.”

“When we fail to speak up, people will continue to say and do things that they shouldn't do,” Meadows said, adding that the anti-Semitic slurs “hurt my heart.”

In response to a question about the growing chaos in Egypt, Meadows said he had dinner with six high-ranking leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood prior to fall of President Mohamed Morsi's government. He told one of the leaders that “the key to keeping U.S. aid is making sure that you're pro-Israel.”

Meadows said the harm that's been done to the “military-to-military relationship” between Egypt and Israel keeps him awake at night. He said the U.S. should fight to preserve the Camp David peace accords signed by the two countries because they are essential to stability in the Middle East.

Asked by an audience member about National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Meadows said he questioned Snowden's motives because of the timing of the leak when Chinese officials were in Washington. But he added that Congress needs to provide better oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies.

“Do I hold up Snowden as a patriot? No, I don't. Do I believe that spying on American citizens is something that we should be doing? Absolutely not, and I think we need to reign that back in and have some oversight,” Meadows said.

Hendersonville resident Frank Skolnick asked Meadows if he agreed with Republican Sen. Rand Paul's assessment that delaying the employer mandate of Obamacare was an unconstitutional, criminal act. Meadows said because the Affordable Care Act was written to give the executive branch a lot of discretion, “I don't know that that's breaking the law.”

Meadows said he didn't disagree with the Obama administration's decision to delay until 2015 fines of $3,000 per worker if larger businesses don't provide their employees with health insurance. But he said it's unfair to exempt businesses from the law and still force individuals who don't get insurance through work to enroll in group exchanges.

“If we're going to delay it, let's delay it across the board,” he said.

Meadows said he is bothered by Congress' low approval rating, but added “I can only be responsible for one person and that's me.” He said the 10 town hall meetings he's holding across his district this month are part of a larger attempt to be responsive to constituents and hopefully restore their faith in government.

“What happens is, they see how nothing is getting done,” Meadows said. “Some people applaud the gridlock, some people say we want something different. But mainly they see that their voice is not being heard and I want to make sure that your voice is heard and that everybody's voice is heard and represented. And if that happens, then ultimately (the approval rating) is going to go up.”

Hendersonville resident Sydney Self asked Meadows what he wanted to see happen with immigration reform. Meadows said he believes “we need to secure our borders or we're going to have this same problem 15 years from now.”

But Meadows added that he supports a guest worker program that allows local apple farmers and berry ranchers to retain the labor supply they need to harvest their crops, despite opposition to that from some in his party.

<p>LAUREL PARK – In the first of several local appearances, Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) fielded an hour's worth of questions at a local synagogue Sunday about topics ranging from his opposition of Obamacare to his views on current troubles in the Middle East.</p><p>Meadows urged about 50 people attending a Sunday seminar at Agudas Israel Congregation to keep pressure on members of Congress to protect Israel, which he called “a democracy that has been blessed beyond measure.”</p><p>“Both Democrats and Republicans see the importance of Israel,” he said. “But I'm here to tell you that some of that is dying down. And what you need to do, as believers that worship here at this synagogue, you really need to make sure that your voice is heard. You need to call. Because the anti-Semitic rhetoric in Europe has not been this high since Hitler.”</p><p>Meadows and other members of the House Foreign Affairs committee sent a letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül on July 30 calling on him to condemn recent anti-Semitic statements by Turkish officials, including Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's reference to Zionism as a “crime against humanity.”</p><p>“When we fail to speak up, people will continue to say and do things that they shouldn't do,” Meadows said, adding that the anti-Semitic slurs “hurt my heart.” </p><p>In response to a question about the growing chaos in Egypt, Meadows said he had dinner with six high-ranking leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood prior to fall of President Mohamed Morsi's government. He told one of the leaders that “the key to keeping U.S. aid is making sure that you're pro-Israel.”</p><p>Meadows said the harm that's been done to the “military-to-military relationship” between Egypt and Israel keeps him awake at night. He said the U.S. should fight to preserve the Camp David peace accords signed by the two countries because they are essential to stability in the Middle East. </p><p>Asked by an audience member about National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Meadows said he questioned Snowden's motives because of the timing of the leak when Chinese officials were in Washington. But he added that Congress needs to provide better oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies. </p><p>“Do I hold up Snowden as a patriot? No, I don't. Do I believe that spying on American citizens is something that we should be doing? Absolutely not, and I think we need to reign that back in and have some oversight,” Meadows said.</p><p>Hendersonville resident Frank Skolnick asked Meadows if he agreed with Republican Sen. Rand Paul's assessment that delaying the employer mandate of Obamacare was an unconstitutional, criminal act. Meadows said because the Affordable Care Act was written to give the executive branch a lot of discretion, “I don't know that that's breaking the law.”</p><p>Meadows said he didn't disagree with the Obama administration's decision to delay until 2015 fines of $3,000 per worker if larger businesses don't provide their employees with health insurance. But he said it's unfair to exempt businesses from the law and still force individuals who don't get insurance through work to enroll in group exchanges.</p><p>“If we're going to delay it, let's delay it across the board,” he said. </p><p>With Congress' approval rating hovering around 11 or 12 percent, Hendersonville resident Mark Lemelman asked Meadows, “Does that strike your conscience? Not you, but I'm talking about Congress. What percentage of Congress pays attention to that?”</p><p>Meadows said he is bothered by Congress' low approval rating, but added “I can only be responsible for one person and that's me.” He said the 10 town hall meetings he's holding across his district this month are part of a larger attempt to be responsive to constituents and hopefully restore their faith in government.</p><p>“What happens is, they see how nothing is getting done,” Meadows said. “Some people applaud the gridlock, some people say we want something different. But mainly they see that their voice is not being heard and I want to make sure that your voice is heard and that everybody's voice is heard and represented. And if that happens, then ultimately (the approval rating) is going to go up.”</p><p>Hendersonville resident Sydney Self asked Meadows what he wanted to see happen with immigration reform. Meadows said he believes “we need to secure our borders or we're going to have this same problem 15 years from now.” </p><p>But Meadows added that he supports a guest worker program that allows local apple farmers and berry ranchers to retain the labor supply they need to harvest their crops, despite opposition to that from some in his party. </p><p>Flat Rock resident Marshall Warshauer wondered whether Meadows had an opinion on term limits.</p><p>“Honestly, I don't see it ever happening,” Meadows said. But he said the “real term limits” occur when incumbents are elected out of office after overstaying their welcome. </p><p>“Let me tell you, if you think it doesn't scare somebody when you start to see grassroots activists saying 'I'm going to get you out' and they've been there awhile, it makes a difference,” he said. </p><p>Meadows has a town meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, one of 10 events he's attending throughout the 11th District.</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>